


Six Years

by Ionaonie



Series: Promises [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Derek Feels, Gen, Hale Family Feels, I just need Derek to have something good, Protective Siblings, Sibling Love, Spoilers for Season 3, episode tag 303
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-20
Updated: 2013-06-20
Packaged: 2017-12-15 13:27:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/850059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ionaonie/pseuds/Ionaonie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cora wakes up in her brother's loft and sees him properly for the first time in six years.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Six Years

**Author's Note:**

> This is incredibly self-indulgent. Incredibly. I can't apologise enough for how self-indulgent this is. 
> 
> I just needed Derek and Cora to have a moment of happiness before everything here gets jossed and everything goes to shit for them.
> 
> This was written in about four hours, when I should have been sleeping. Hence, it's not even close to being betaed. All mistakes are mine. If you find any, let me know.

Cora woke, her mouth dry and her head pounding like 10,000 Uruk-hai were marching through her head. None of the smells around her were familiar. None except one. 

Opening her eyes, she turned her head slightly and all the air left her lungs at the sight of her brother - of _Derek_ \- slouched down on a chair next to her bed, fast asleep. He looked older. Not just in age, because, duh, that was obvious, but in life experience. She didn’t know what had happened to him and Laura after the fire, other than they had been lucky enough to be together. Whatever it was, she hoped it hadn’t been as bad as what she’d gone through.

Having him right there, within touching distance, felt like a dream. She wanted to talk to him. Hear his voice. But, for a few moments more she just wanted to look at him. 

She hadn’t believed it three years ago when Deaton had turned up in Chicago with some bullshit story about knowing her family and she certainly hadn’t believed him when he’d said Derek and Laura were alive. But it appeared that he’d been truthful about some things because here Derek was, right in front of her. 

‘You’re totally real,’ she murmured, reaching out towards him. 

Derek jolted awake and she would have laughed at the way he nearly fell off the chair if not for the panicked look of fear on his face. 

Rubbing a hand wearily over his face, he righted the chair. ‘What?’ 

‘I didn’t know if you were real.’ Kicking the sheets down her legs, Cora sat up. ‘It seemed like a dream, you there in the vault.’ Everything about the last few days, with the approach of the full moon, was hazy. Everything except the image of Derek appearing in front of her in the bank vault. 

Derek stared at her for a moment, frozen by the chair. ‘You thought I was a dream.’ It was half question, half statement and sounded like he almost wanted to laugh but didn’t know how. Which was stupid, because Derek was always laughing. Always teasing her and playing horrible practical jokes on everyone, but especially Uncle Peter. 

He rubbed absently at his ribs, and Cora was suddenly inundated with visions of her and Boyd clawing at Derek, shredding his skin, blood splattering everywhere, the smell making her feel heady and powerful. 

‘How -’ She swallowed past the bile in her throat. ‘- how did I - we - not kill you?’ 

Derek glanced away, raw pain on his face, and her nose was filled with the scent of grief and Cora was suddenly terrified about what would come out of his mouth.

‘I - I’m Alpha.’ 

‘But, but Laura -’ Her throat closed up and she stared imploringly at him, begging him to fill in the Laura-shaped gap. 

‘Was Alpha. She. Died. Was killed. Nine months ago.’

‘Laura’s…dead?’ Deaton hadn’t mentioned that last time she’d seen him.

Derek closed his eyes briefly before meeting her gaze. He nodded. 

Before Cora quite knew what she was doing, she launched herself at Derek. For a second he looked horrified, and even a little scared, but Cora ignored it. Wrapping her arms tight around his shoulders, she pulled him close and buried her face against the side of his neck. For a long, excruciatingly slow second, Cora thought she’d done the wrong thing; Derek was stiff and unmoving but then his arms came up and she was engulfed in one of Derek’s awesome hugs. 

Even thought he’d never been destined to be Alpha, Derek’s hugs had been second to only their mom’s. Laura’s a distant third. Even after six years, Derek’s hugs made her feel safe in a way precious little could now. 

Holding her a little tighter, Derek moved them over to the bed she’d woken in and very nearly collapsed on it, though he was careful to keep his body under hers. Cora curled further into his side. 

‘Where are we?’ She looked around the room, taking in the high ceilings, wide, slightly dirty windows and the general dreariness of the place. What had happened to Derek that he’d ended up here? 

‘My loft.’

Cora frowned. ‘Doesn’t smell like your bed. Are you even sleeping?’ The gaunt lines of Derek’s face were scaring her and she was resolved to make him eat and sleep more. 

Derek snorted. ‘My bed’s downstairs.’ 

‘Uh, okay.’ Cora leaned back so she could see Derek’s face. For all that being near him felt like home, this wasn’t the brother she remembered. The Derek from before would have answered that question with far more information than necessary. He’d kind of been a dick like that. ‘If your bed’s downstairs, why do you have one up here?’ 

Cora felt him shrug. ‘I guess it felt right, having a bed in here.’ His face twisted through a complicated array of emotions. ‘It. It could be yours. If you want.’

She pressed her cheek against his shoulder. ‘If I want? Of course I want. Idiot.’

Derek glanced around the room. ‘We can go shopping.’ 

‘I don’t care about shopping, Derek. I just want to be here.’

‘You love shopping.’ 

‘How did Laura die?’ She didn’t want to think about how she’d been before. That girl didn’t exist anymore. Just like the Derek she remembered didn’t seem to exist anymore, either. 

There was a long pause. ‘It’s a long story.’ 

‘After six years I think all our stories are going to be long.’ 

Derek’s grip on her shoulder tightened. 

She cast around for something less painful to talk about. ‘There are others downstairs. Wolf and human.’ 

‘My Pack. More or less.’ There was another pause. ‘Uncle Peter’s down there, too.’ 

‘He made it out?’ Cora’s mood lightened. At least it did until she realised how tightly wound Derek’s body was and that the implication was that Peter wasn’t part of Derek’s pack. She smoothed a hand down his side. ‘Is it bad?’ 

‘All part of the same long story.’

‘Fun.’

Derek snorted. 

‘The other werewolf, Boyd, is he okay?’

Derek nodded. ‘Isaac and Scott stayed with him.’

‘They threw me in with Boyd a couple of days ago,’ she offered, wanting to give him something. ‘I never met Erica. I’m sorry about her, though.’

Derek took a deep, shuddering breath and he shook next to Cora, although he was obviously trying not to. 

Without looking Cora reached up and started stroking her hand through his hair, like their mom had in the past. ‘I know we need to talk,’ she said, breathing in his scent.

‘Cora -’

‘No, like, we really need to talk.’ She had to tell him about the man, Deaton, and how she’d got back to Beacon Hills, not to mention what she’d managed to pick up about Deucalion and his merry band of Alphas during her time there, no matter how hazy the details. ‘But first could we just, I don’t know, stay here for a little while longer. Maybe have a pizza.’ 

‘You still like olives, pepperoni and anchovies?’ Derek murmured into her hair. 

‘At least I’m not the freak who doesn’t like meat on his pizza,’ she shot back. 

There was a knock at the door, making Cora jump and she flushed. ‘Must be more tired than I thought.’

‘Yes, Stiles?’ Derek was scowling as the door opened, but his scent had settled so Cora knew it was all for show. 

‘Scott said pizza was mentioned?’ 

To Cora’s surprise, Derek growled. Even more surprising was the way Stiles - who the hell called their kid Stiles? Cora had questions to ask once she felt like she could get out of bed without falling over - held up his hands in surrender, a grin firmly in place. The grin was at odds with the worry, concern and sadness Cora could smell on him. 

‘Relax, dude. No-one’s been listening in. I promise.’ He winced. ‘Well, maybe Peter. I make no promises about his creepy ass.’ 

Derek grunted, apparently agreeing. Since when was Uncle Peter creepy? It was probably part of that long story. Cora was beginning to suspect that she wasn’t going to like this long story. 

‘My point is, Scott is hardwired to hone in on the word pizza. I was sent up to check that this was actually accurate and make sure we can all order in.’ 

‘Add a pepperoni, anchovies and olive pizza, deep pan, to our order.’

Stiles raised an eyebrow and looked at her, pulling a face. ‘Seriously?’

‘Don’t knock it till you try it,’ she suggested. 

Stiles didn’t reply, just grinned at her some more. He had a nice smile. Friendly. Cora wasn’t used to people being friendly. 

He turned to go, but paused in the doorway. ‘I’ll yell when it’s here.’

Derek nodded. ‘Stiles?’ 

‘Yeah?’ 

‘Could you bring up a glass of water?’ 

‘Sure.’ Stiles smiled one more time before he closed the door, clattering down the stairs yelling for Scott to start dialling. 

‘I’d say you get used to it,’ Derek said. ‘But I’d be lying.’ 

‘You like it.’ 

‘Maybe.’ 

‘Tell me about your pack,’ she asked, starting to feel sleepy again, despite the promise of pizza in her future. ‘Something nice.’ 

‘I’ll do my best,’ Derek promised, hugging her tight.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm all kinds of fed up with Deaton being all mysterious when him telling Scott and Derek things would solve so many problems. At the moment it almost makes sense for him to be a bad guy, only telling them what they need to know when it suits his means. 
> 
> Hence, in this, Deaton is a big bad. Maybe the big bad. Don't ask me how it works but in my head it totally does.


End file.
